Family Planning Cooperative Purchasing Program
A non-profit purchasing collaborative for health care & community organizations
August 18, 2008
Seniors Today Having More Sex than Those of 30 Years Ago
Public Release Date: 9-July-2008
GOTHENBURG, Sweden, July 9 -- Sexual activity is on the rise among 70-year-olds, a cross-sectional survey here revealed.
From 1971 through 2001, the proportion of 70-year-olds who reported having sex within the past year increased for both men and women, regardless of marital status (P=0.016), Ingmar Skoog, M.D., Ph.D., of the University of Gothenburg, and colleagues reported online in BMJ.
Continue reading "Seniors Today Having More Sex than Those of 30 Years Ago "
August 11, 2008
Breast Self-Exam Gets Thumbs Down in Systematic Review
Public Release Date: 16-July-2008
COPENHAGEN -- Breast self-examination does not reduce breast cancer mortality and may cause harm by prompting unnecessary biopsies, according to data on almost 400,000 women.
Women who performed self-examination had virtually identical breast cancer mortality rates as women who did not examine their breasts, Jan Peter Kosters, Ph.D., and Peter C. Gotzsche, Ph.D., of the Nordic Cochrane Center here, reported in a Cochrane Review.
Continue reading "Breast Self-Exam Gets Thumbs Down in Systematic Review "
August 04, 2008
Lawsuit Calls for Removal of Misleading Language About Parental Notification Measure From Voter Guide
Public Release Date: 4-August-2008
Planned Parenthood Affiliates of California and other groups on Friday filed a lawsuit in Sacramento County Superior Court that asks the California secretary of state to remove misleading language about a parental notification ballot initiative from the official voter guide, the Los Angeles Times reports.
July 29, 2008
Health Partnership Expands Cancer Screening Services
Public Release Date: 15-July-2008
The Health Partnership of Monroe County, which evolved from the Women's Health Partnership, has expanded its free cancer screenings for women and men and now offers coverage for the human papilloma virus (HPV) vaccine.
Continue reading "Health Partnership Expands Cancer Screening Services "
July 28, 2008
Poll Finds 48% Support for, 39% Opposition to California Parental Notification Ballot Initiative
Public Release Date: 25-July-2008
About 48% of likely California voters said they support an initiative on the state's Nov. 4 ballot that would require parental notification before minors could receive abortions, while 39% of likely voters said they oppose it, according to a Field Poll released earlier this week, the Contra Costa Times reports. The poll was conducted among 672 likely voters and had a margin of error of plus or minus 5.6 percentage points (Harmon, Contra Costa Times, 7/22).
July 22, 2008
Economics Determine Cancer Survival Worldwide but Race Matters in U.S.
Public Release Date: 16-July-2008
LONDON -- Cancer survival rates differ widely around the world, primarily along economic lines but racially in the U.S., according to the first direct global comparison.
Five-year survival rates for breast, colorectal, and prostate cancer were generally higher in North America, Australia, Japan, and most of Europe than in Africa, South America, and eastern Europe, found Michel P. Coleman, M.B.Bch., M.Sc., of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, and colleagues.
Continue reading "Economics Determine Cancer Survival Worldwide but Race Matters in U.S. "
July 16, 2008
Legislators, Advocates Respond To Potential Federal Rule That Could Limit Birth Control Access
Public Release Date: 16-July-2008
Rep. Nita Lowey (D-N.Y.) and several family planning advocates on Tuesday responded to a regulation being developed by the Bush administration that would effectively allow abortion to be defined to include commonly used contraceptive methods and would protect the rights of medical providers who refused to offer them, Reuters reports.
Bush Administration Developing Rule That Could Limit Access to Birth Control
Public Release Date: 15-July-2008
The Bush administration is developing a regulation that would define abortion as "any of the various procedures -- including the prescription, dispensing and administration of any drug or the performance of any procedure or any other action -- that results in the termination of the life of a human being in utero between conception and natural birth, whether before or after implantation," the New York Times reports. The draft proposal leaked to the Times also would require all recipients of aid from HHS to certify they will not refuse to hire health care workers who object to abortion and certain types of birth control.
Continue reading "Bush Administration Developing Rule That Could Limit Access to Birth Control "
July 15, 2008
Ovarian Cancer's Specific Scent Detected by Dogs
Public Release Date: 26-June-2008
Research published in the journal Integrative Cancer Therapies
Los Angeles, London, New Delhi, and Singapore – Ground-breaking research in the June issue of Integrative Cancer Therapies published by SAGE explored whether ovarian cancer has a scent different from other cancers and whether working dogs could be taught to distinguish it in its different stages.
Continue reading "Ovarian Cancer's Specific Scent Detected by Dogs"
July 14, 2008
Training Program That Teaches Parents How To Discuss Sex With Children Effective, Study Says
Public Release Date: 14-July-2008
A new training program that teaches parents at their workplace how to discuss sex with their children could be an effective way to reduce high-risk sexual behavior among teenagers, according to a U.S. study published Thursday in the British Medical Journal, Reuters reports. According to Reuters, the study -- funded by NIH and CDC -- comes amid new statistics that found the birth rate for U.S. teens increased in 2006 for the first time since 1991.
July 10, 2008
Senate Votes to Eliminate 10.6% Medicare Pay Cut to Physicians
Public Release Date: 9-July-2008
WASHINGTON -- The Senate today quashed a 10.6% Medicare pay cut to doctors, with Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.) making an unexpected and dramatic appearance to add his aye to a 69-30 veto-proof margin.
Continue reading "Senate Votes to Eliminate 10.6% Medicare Pay Cut to Physicians "
June 30, 2008
New York Teens Lobby State Lawmakers to Pass Comprehensive Sex Education Bill
Public Release Date: 24-June-2008
Teenagers throughout New York state recently urged State Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno (R) and other senators to pass the Healthy Teens Act, which would make funding available for schools to provide comprehensive sex education, Long Island Newsday reports.
Intensive lobbying efforts to bring the legislation to the Senate floor before the session ended on Monday included calls and visits to senators, phone call campaigns to residents, petitions and roadside signs.
Continue reading "New York Teens Lobby State Lawmakers to Pass Comprehensive Sex Education Bill"
June 27, 2008
Herpes Virus Linked to Ketosis-Prone Diabetes
Public Release Date: 17-June-2008
PARIS -- A herpes virus is associated with an atypical form of type 2 diabetes found in people of African origin, researchers said here.
Ketosis-prone type 2 diabetes mellitus, first observed in the late 1960s, is an acute-onset form of the disease that requires insulin treatment and is followed by long periods of remission, according to Jean-François Gautier, M.D., Ph.D., of the Saint-Louis University Hospital here, and colleagues.
Continue reading "Herpes Virus Linked to Ketosis-Prone Diabetes "
June 23, 2008
Teen Pregnancy Surge in Gloucester, Mass., Stirs Debate Over Sex Education, Contraception
Public Release Date: 23-June-2008
A surge in teen pregnancy at a high school in Gloucester, Mass., has sparked a debate over whether to provide students access to comprehensive sex education and confidential distribution of contraception, the New York Times reports (Zezima, New York Times, 6/20).
At least 17 girls at Gloucester High School are pregnant -- four times more than last year -- and nearly half the girls became pregnant after allegedly making a "pact" to become pregnant and raise the children together, TIME Magazine reports (Kingsbury, TIME Magazine, 6/18).
June 11, 2008
Safety Concerns Over Merck's HPV Vaccine Gardasil Unfounded, CDC Officials Say
Public Release Date: 9-June-2008
Safety concerns over Merck's human papillomavirus vaccine Gardasil are unfounded, and reports of serious adverse events are unrelated to the vaccine, CDC officials recently said, the Dallas Morning News reports.
According to the Morning News, about 5,000 reports have been filed by the public through a CDC- and FDA-administered database that monitors the safety of vaccines after they are licensed (Meyers, Dallas Morning News, 6/6).
Continue reading "Safety Concerns Over Merck's HPV Vaccine Gardasil Unfounded, CDC Officials Say"
June 09, 2008
National Abstinence Education Association Launches Effort Aimed at Gaining Support of 1M Parents
Public Release Date: 2-June-2008
Last week, the National Abstinence Education Association launched a $1 million nationwide campaign aimed at garnering the support of one million parents to lobby schools for more abstinence-only education programs, the Washington Post reports.
June 05, 2008
Implementation of Nurse-to-Patient Ratios Laws in California is Successful, says American Society of Registered Nurses
Public Release Date: 11-May-2008
In a national online survey conducted by the American Society of Registered Nurses (ASRN.org), 56% of the 761 Registered Nurses surveyed on March 26 that worked under nurse-to-patient ratios said that due to the implementation of the ratios, they had more time for breaks.
In a separate survey, 69% said they had more time for personal care of their patients.
June 02, 2008
Boston Globe Examines Local Pilot Sex Education Program
Public Release Date: 27-May-2008
The Boston Globe on Thursday examined a pilot sex education program in central Massachusetts that has drawn "rave reviews from parents," who say that the program has made them more comfortable discussing sex with their children.
Continue reading "Boston Globe Examines Local Pilot Sex Education Program "
May 27, 2008
Kansas Breast and Cervical Cancer Screening Program for Low-Income, Uninsured Women Runs Out of Funding
Public Release Date: 6-May-2008
The Kansas Early Detection Works program, which provides uninsured low-income women in the state with breast and cervical cancer screenings at no cost, has depleted its operating funds and will delay almost all cancer screenings until July 1, the Wichita Eagle reports.
May 21, 2008
Federal Appeals Court Declares Virginia Abortion Ban Unconstitutional
Public Release Date: 21-May-2008
On Tuesday, a three-judge panel of the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond, Va., declared a Virginia law banning so-called "partial-birth" abortion unconstitutional, the Washington Post reports. In a 2-1 decision, the panel said the law infringed on a woman's constitutional right to abortion (Barnes, Washington Post, 5/21).
Continue reading "Federal Appeals Court Declares Virginia Abortion Ban Unconstitutional"
May 12, 2008
Christian Science Monitor Examines Threats to Specialty Schools for Teenage Moms
Public Release Date: 1-May-2008
The Christian Science Monitor on Wednesday examined how funding shortfalls, concerns about education equality and changing social mores are threatening alternative schools that cater to pregnant and parenting teenagers.
Continue reading "Christian Science Monitor Examines Threats to Specialty Schools for Teenage Moms"
May 07, 2008
PAS: Moms May Be Waiting Too Long for Daughters' HPV Vaccination
Public Release Date: 5-May-2008
HONOLULU -- Mothers may be less willing to vaccinate their daughters against the human papillomavirus (HPV) during the optimal preteen years than at older ages, researchers found.
Even among female health professionals, fewer than half said they intended to get their daughter inoculated with the HPV vaccine (Gardasil) before age 13, as recommended by the CDC, results of a survey presented here at the Pediatric Academic Societies meeting showed.
Continue reading "PAS: Moms May Be Waiting Too Long for Daughters' HPV Vaccination "
May 05, 2008
Who Pays for Health Care When Workers are Uninsured?
Public Release Date: 2-May-2008
Health insurance coverage and unpaid health care for full-time workers and their family members without employer coverage costs the U.S. public $45 billion a year, according to a report from The Commonwealth Fund released today.
This includes $33 billion in the cost of public coverage such as Medicaid and the State Children's Health Insurance Program, and $12 billion in uncompensated care expenses-which are paid by Federal, state and local governments and shifted to other payers-provided to uninsured workers and dependents.
Continue reading "Who Pays for Health Care When Workers are Uninsured? "
April 28, 2008
House Passes Medicaid Bill 349-62
Public Release Date: 24-April-2008
The House on Wednesday voted 349-62 to pass a bill (HR 5613) aimed at blocking seven new Medicaid regulations, the AP/Houston Chronicle reports (Abrams, AP/Houston Chronicle, 4/23). The 349 votes for the bill, which included 221 Democrats and 128 Republicans, is 75 more votes than would be required to override a presidential veto (Lengell, Washington Times, 4/24).
Continue reading "House Passes Medicaid Bill 349-62"
April 15, 2008
AACR: Breast Cancer Vaccine Hints at Mortality Reduction in Recurrent HER2-Positives
Published: April 14, 2008
SAN DIEGO -- For women with recurrent HER2-overexpression breast cancer, an investigational peptide vaccine tended to reduce mortality although there was no impact on disease reappearance, according to data reported here.
April 10, 2008
Study Details Heart Risks from HIV Drugs
Public Release Date: 2-April-2008
COPENHAGEN -- Just days after the FDA warned that two HIV drugs may increase the risk of heart attack, leaders of a major observational study have filled in the details.
Recent use of abacavir (Ziagen) and didanosine (Videx) are associated with a 90% and a 49% increase, respectively, in the risk of myocardial infarction, according to Jens Lundgren, M.D., of the University of Copenhagen, and colleagues in the D:A:D Study Group.
Continue reading "Study Details Heart Risks from HIV Drugs "
April 09, 2008
Contraception Options for Women Ages 40, Older Expanding
Public Release Date: 8-April-2008
Women ages 40 and older have more contraceptive options than in previous years, during which their contraceptive options were often limited to tubal ligation surgery and condoms, the AP/Google.com reports.
Continue reading "Contraception Options for Women Ages 40, Older Expanding "
April 08, 2008
Anemia Increases Local Relapse Risk in Early Breast Cancer
Public Release Date: 3-April-2008
VIENNA -- Chemotherapy-induced anemia significantly increases the risk of local relapse in premenopausal early-stage breast cancer, a new analysis of data from a multicenter clinical trial suggests.
Continue reading "Anemia Increases Local Relapse Risk in Early Breast Cancer "
April 07, 2008
Obesity in Pregnancy Weighs Heavily on Healthcare Services
Public Release Date: 3-April-2008
ATLANTA, Ga. -- Pregnant women who were overweight were more likely to use all levels of healthcare services -- from prenatal testing, to Caesarean section, to phone calls -- than normal-weight women, a study found.
Continue reading "Obesity in Pregnancy Weighs Heavily on Healthcare Services "
April 03, 2008
Success of Philadelphia's STI Screening Program for High School Students 'Good News,' Editorial Says
Public Release Date: 1-April-2008
Philadelphia's public health officials "should be commended for their success" in implementing a "bold" program in 2003 that offers no-cost screening for sexually transmitted infections to high school students, a Philadelphia Inquirer editorial says. According to the Inquirer, the "aggressive and innovative" program has "become a model for other cities," including New York City, Baltimore and Los Angeles.
April 02, 2008
Estrogen-Progestin Found to Blunt Sensitivity of Mammography
Public Release Date: 26-February-2008
LOS ANGELES -- Use of estrogen plus progestin appears to make breast cancer more difficult to detect by both screening mammography and biopsy, according to a post hoc analysis of data from the Women's Health Initiative study.
Continue reading "Estrogen-Progestin Found to Blunt Sensitivity of Mammography "
March 27, 2008
Lack of Political Will and the Subordination of Women are Major Barriers to Tackling AIDS
Public Release Date: 21-February-2008
Denial, myths, complacency, lack of political will and the subordination of women are major obstacles in the fight against HIV and AIDS. And with no cure or vaccine in sight, scaling up prevention is of paramount importance, according to Professor Lars Kallings, a leading expert in the global fight against the world’s first modern pandemic.
March 17, 2008
Survey Shows 37% Prevalence of Pelvic Floor Disorders
Public Release Date: 3-March-2008
SAN DIEGO -- More than a third of community-dwelling women have a pelvic floor disorder, and most have more than one disorder, according to a survey here.
Overall 37% of women reported one or more pelvic floor disorders, Emily S. Lukacz, M.D., of the University of California San Diego, and colleagues, reported in the March issue of Obstetrics & Gynecology.
Continue reading "Survey Shows 37% Prevalence of Pelvic Floor Disorders "
March 13, 2008
Editorials Respond to CDC Report Finding 25% of U.S. Adolescents, Young Women Ages 14 to 19 Have Common STIs
Public Release Date: 13-March-2008
Several editorials recently responded to a CDC report that found that about 25% of U.S. girls and young women ages 14 to 19 have at least one of four common sexually transmitted infections.
25% of U.S. Girls, Young Women Ages 14 to 19 Have Common STIs, CDC Study Says
Public Release Date: 12-March-2008
About 25% of U.S. girls and young women ages 14 to 19 have at least one of four common sexually transmitted infections, according to a study released Tuesday by CDC during a conference in Chicago, the New York Times reports. According to the Times, the study was the first to look at data on the four most common STIs in adolescent females, including human papillomavirus.
Continue reading "25% of U.S. Girls, Young Women Ages 14 to 19 Have Common STIs, CDC Study Says "
March 12, 2008
Anti-HIV Gel Proven Safe, Tolerable for Women
Public Release Date: 25-February-2008
Phase II study results set the stage for larger trials to see if tenofovir prevents HIV infection
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – An experimental anti-HIV gel is safe for women to use on a daily basis, according to researchers at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) and the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine.
Continue reading "Anti-HIV Gel Proven Safe, Tolerable for Women"
March 11, 2008
Cancer Institute Announces New Study To Compare Effectiveness of Breast Cancer Treatments Tykerb, Herceptin
Public Release Date: 3-March-2008
The National Cancer Institute on Friday announced a new study aimed at comparing the efficacy of GlaxoSmithKline's breast cancer treatment Tykerb with Genentech's breast cancer treatment Herceptin, Reuters reports. Both drugs have been approved by FDA to treat HER-2 positive breast cancer, which affects about 20% to 30% of women with the disease. The study will enroll about 8,000 women in 50 countries (Hirschler, Reuters, 2/29).
March 10, 2008
Rule Shifts Would Let States Rework Medicaid Plans and Charge Patients More
Public Release Date: 26-February-2008
WASHINGTON -- States would have greater latitude to craft their own Medicaid benefit packages and require increased cost sharing by patients, spell out two new regulations proposed by CMS.
The proposals are central to an ongoing debate between the federal government and states over how to pay for services under Medicaid, the 43-year-old federal-state program that provides healthcare services to 59 million poor and disabled patients. The federal government pays 57% of the $330 billion in annual costs.
Continue reading "Rule Shifts Would Let States Rework Medicaid Plans and Charge Patients More "
March 04, 2008
Yale Test Detects Early Stage Ovarian Cancer with 99 Percent Accuracy
Public Release Date: 12-February-2008
Researchers at Yale School of Medicine have developed a blood test with enough sensitivity and specificity to detect early stage ovarian cancer with 99 percent accuracy.
Results of this new study are published in the February 15 issue of the journal Clinical Cancer Research. The results build on work done by the same Yale group in 2005 showing 95 percent effectiveness of a blood test using four proteins.
Continue reading "Yale Test Detects Early Stage Ovarian Cancer with 99 Percent Accuracy"
February 28, 2008
About One-Quarter of Women with HIV Want to Become Pregnant
Public Release Date: 25-February-2008
COLUMBUS, Ohio – About one in four women who have tested positive for the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) expect pregnancy and motherhood to be a part of their future, recent research suggests.
A woman’s age at the time she learns of her HIV status appears to influence this decision. Women in an Ohio State University study who learned of their HIV infection when they were under age 30 were almost four times more likely to say they wanted to become pregnant than were women who were over 30 when they learned they had HIV.
Continue reading "About One-Quarter of Women with HIV Want to Become Pregnant"
February 27, 2008
Mail Order Pharmacies Growing More Popular
Public Release Date: 26-February-2008
Of Americans who buy prescription drugs, the proportion who purchase them from mail order pharmacies rose from just under 9 percent in 2000 to just over 13 percent in 2005, according to the latest News and Numbers from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.
Continue reading "Mail Order Pharmacies Growing More Popular "
February 26, 2008
Intervention Program Boosts Health, Reduces Symptoms in Breast Cancer Patients
Public Release Date: 28-January-2008
COLUMBUS, Ohio – Psychological interventions for cancer patients do more than just ease emotional distress – they directly improve health, new research suggests.
A study of 227 breast cancer patients found that those who participated in a psychological intervention program were rated as having better health by a research nurse a full year after the program started.
Continue reading "Intervention Program Boosts Health, Reduces Symptoms in Breast Cancer Patients"
February 25, 2008
Child Abuse Hikes Healthcare Costs in Adulthood
Public Release Date: 20-February-2008
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Women who report that they were abused as children have higher healthcare costs later in life, researchers here said.
Compared to those with no history of abuse, annual healthcare costs were 36% higher for women who reported childhood sexual and physical abuse, according to Amy Bonomi, Ph.D., of Ohio State University, and colleagues.
Continue reading "Child Abuse Hikes Healthcare Costs in Adulthood "
February 21, 2008
Quality Schooling Has Little Impact on Teenage Sexual Activity
Public Release Date: 7-February-2008
A report published in the online open access journal, BMC Public Health, shows that socio-economic situation and the local high school catchment area have a more powerful influence on reported sexual experience among 15 and 16 year olds than classroom discipline or the quality of relationships within schools.
Continue reading "Quality Schooling Has Little Impact on Teenage Sexual Activity"
February 19, 2008
Everyday Stress May Increase HPV Progression to Cervical Cancer
Public Release Date: 15-February-2008
PHILADELPHIA -- Women infected with HPV16 were less likely to show an immune response to the virus if they felt high levels of daily stress, researchers found.
No such association was seen for past major stressful events, such as job loss, or divorce, Carolyn Y. Fang, Ph.D., of Fox Chase Cancer Center here, and colleagues reported in the February issue of Annals of Behavioral Medicine.
Continue reading "Everyday Stress May Increase HPV Progression to Cervical Cancer "
February 18, 2008
Bush's FY 2009 Budget Proposal Increases Abstinence-Only Funding, Flat Funds Family Planning
Public Release Date: 4-February-2008
President Bush's fiscal year 2009 budget proposes to increase spending for abstinence-only education and global health initiatives but would eliminate or reduce spending on other health care programs, the AP/Seattle Post-Intelligencer reports (Taylor, AP/Seattle Post-Intelligencer, 2/1). Bush's proposal provides $300 million for the Title X family planning program in FY 2009, the same level as FY 2008.
February 14, 2008
Beneficial Bacteria Found in Healthy Women Provide Clues for Slowing HIV Transmission
Public Release Date: 9-February-2008
Beneficial bacteria found in healthy women help to reduce the amount of vaginal HIV among HIV-infected women and might make it more difficult for the virus to spread, boosting the possibility that "good bacteria" might someday be tapped in the fight against HIV.
February 13, 2008
Kroger Launches Discount Drug Program, Includes Generic Birth Control
Public Release Date: 7-February-2008
On Wednesday, the Cincinnati-based Kroger announced that it will begin selling 30-day supplies of more than 300 generic prescription drugs, including birth control pills, at significant discounts at participating pharmacies nationwide, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.
Continue reading "Kroger Launches Discount Drug Program, Includes Generic Birth Control"
February 12, 2008
Lifestyle Modification Does Little to Protect Against Ovarian Cancer
Public Release Date: 22-January-2008
BOSTON -- Reduction of potentially modifiable risk factors may offer, at best, modest protection against ovarian cancer, researchers found.
Caffeine consumption was associated with up to a 20% reduction in ovarian cancer risk (P=0.03 for trend), but avoiding tobacco and alcohol didn't help overall, reported Shelley S. Tworoger, Ph.D., of the Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard, and colleagues, in the March 1 issue of the journal Cancer.
Continue reading "Lifestyle Modification Does Little to Protect Against Ovarian Cancer "
February 11, 2008
Health Insurance Co-Payments Deter Mammography Use
Public Release Date: 23-January-2008
PROVIDENCE, R.I. Brown University — When faced with even a modest health insurance co-payment for a mammogram, significantly fewer women receive these potentially life-saving breast cancer screenings, according to a new study by Brown University and Harvard Medical School researchers.
Continue reading "Health Insurance Co-Payments Deter Mammography Use"